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Hippocampus
The Hippocampus is commonly seen in ancient Greek art and is a mythical creature associated with the Greek god of the ocean - Poseidon (or Neptune in Roman myth). The Hippocampus has the top half of a horse including head neck and forelegs and the lower part of a fish, a dolphin or in some rare cases a serpent. Therefore the Hippocampus is literally a sea-horse. The name comes from the Greek ‘hippos’ meaning horse and ‘kampos’ meaning sea monster. 'Poseidon was the god of horses as well as the god of the sea and earthquakes. Many Hippocampi were needed to draw the chariot of the sea of Poseidon. Homer describes Poseidon as driving a chariot pulled by brazen-hoofed horses across the sea. The Hippocampus appears frequently in bronzeware, silverware and paintings of the ancient Greeks and the Etruscans but also feature in the artworks of India and Mesopotamia. According to one tale when the city of Helike was submerged by an earthquake the Hippocampi swam free above the city and pulled on the lines of fisherman's rods. The Hippocampus are also the mounts for the Nerieds and spiritual beings. There are 4 other fish tailed animals like the Hippocampus:'Leokampos - a fish-tailed lion.Taurokampos - a fish-tailed bull.'Pardalokampos - a fish-tailed leopard.'Aigikampos - a fish-tailed goat which later became Capricorn. The Hippocampi is also a creature of medieval heraldry. However its appearance is quite different. It still has the upper-half of a horse but it has webbed feet instead of hooves and dorsal fin of a dolphin instead of a mane. It has the tail of a fish and in some cases the wings of a bird. In art the hippocamp is most often depicted pulling the chariot of Poseidon/Neptune--god of the sea. This is logical because Poseidon was also acknowledged as the god of horses. he is sometime shown as being accompanied by his wife Amphitrite/Salacia. The hippocamp was also sometimes being ridden by a sea nymph (called 'trites' or 'nerieds')When Poseidon came to the rescue he was normally described as being catried by hippocampuses. Thus they appear in classic tales such as the Argonautica Trivia Percy says the hippocampi are "not all that smart" in The Titan's Curse.They refer to Percy as "My lord" because their creator was Poseidon.They often rely on Percy to help them. That is how he first met the Ophiotaurus (with them asking him to free it).A Hippocampus is also a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates, which is ironic, since Percy said that they're not smart.Hippocampi are said to be able to move through the water faster than jet-skis.They can be used as beasts of burden.Poseidon's chariot is pulled by hippocampi.In The Sea of Monsters, one of the hippocampi that Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson meet to get them to the Princess Andromeda is Rainbow, who rescues them after Polyphemus destroys their ride, the Queen Anne's Revenge, a pirate ship owned by Blackbeard, son of Ares, when Clarisse La Rue kept taunting Polyphemus as Percy desperately swims for the side of the Queen Anne's Revenge.Tyson calls the hippocampi "Fish Ponies" because they look like a mixture of a horse and a fish.They are supposed to be the fully grown versions of sea horses.In northern European culture, there are creatures that resemble Hippocampi called Kelpies.